Community Corner: Teens get summer opportunity through partnership

Working on a recent CREW project are, from left, Jessica Treadwell, Kailey Reyes and Joey Halstead. Being a member of CREW means learning everything from a work ethic to physical completion of a job.
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Fisher DeHerrera rakes an Oroville youth baseball field as part of a CREW project.
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The Boys and Girls Clubs of the North Valley and local park districts are teaming up again this summer to give teens hands-on job experience and training.

Through the Career Readiness Empowered Workforce (CREW) program, youths in Chico, Oroville and Paradise are spending their summer working with local parks and recreation districts to maintain and improve facilities at local recreation areas.

Jesse Saavedra, a 14-year-old Chico High School student, is a second-year CREW participant working with the Chico Area Recreation and Park District. Saavedra said he applied for the program again this year because there really isn’t anything he doesn’t like about the program and “it’s really fun.”

“It always interested me what the CARD workers do in the parks. I like spreading mulch and all that hard work. When you are helping out in the parks, every person who walks by says ‘thank you’ and that makes me feel happy,” said Saavedra.

In addition to spreading mulch and pulling weeds alongside park and recreation staff in the three cities, the CREW kids are also working on beautification projects, ballfield maintenance, fence repair and learning landscaping skills including irrigation installation.

The 10-week program combines field work with classroom work. Participants receive job mentoring and career development guidance learning the skills they need to find employment including application and resume writing, interviewing skills, developing appropriate work habits and decision-making skills, as well setting future education and career goals.

“The work-based experience is important beyond the hands-on aspect. It’s also important for the kids to learn to communicate appropriately, show up on time and understand how to make decisions,” said Joe Heil, chief operations officer.

CREW serves the youths but also contributes to the community at large since the results of their labor improve public spaces.

“We are trying to broaden the kids’ horizons, get them thinking about what they want to do in life while at the same time introduce them to the idea of giving back to their communities,” said Devon Saul, Chico Teen Center director.

There are a dozen kids working in the program this summer. To get into the program, they all had to fill out applications and go through an interview process. There is no cost to the students and if they need special clothes for their jobs the Boys and Girls Club provides them.

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“The program is highly beneficial to all the youth who participate,” said Lisa Spiegler, Oroville Teen Center director. “We’ve done in-house surveys of the kids who have participated in the past and they report they feel more confident and more prepared to enter the workforce because of the skills, experience and abilities they’ve learned. They tell us they got their first big job due in part to the experience with the Boys and Girls Club.”

Hoppie Campos, area director in Paradise, said CREW goes beyond job experience. He stressed the program teaches the students how to work on a team, problem solve, manage time, set and achieve goals, and approach their jobs, peers and co-workers with a positive attitude.

“This program takes our kids and doesn’t just make them hireable, it makes them desirable,” said Campos.

At the end of the summer program, the Boys and Girls Club hosts a large graduation ceremony honoring all the students who have successfully completed the program.

This is the fifth year the program has been held in Chico. CREW has operated in four years in Oroville and three years in Paradise. The budget to operate the program in all three cities is $30,000.